Saturday, June 11, 2016

A NEW DISCOVERY OF SPANISH CAVE ART HAS BEEN REPORTED:

A story by
Ciaran Giles, writing for Associated Press in Madrid, Spain, on May 27, 2016,
outlines the discovery of new cave art in northern Spain.

"Spanish archaeologists say
they have discovered an exceptional set of Paleolithic-era cave drawings that
could rank among the best in a country that already boasts some of the world's
most important cave art."
(Giles 2016)

Bison image
from Axturra Cave.

(Diputacion
Floral de Bizkaia.)

Outlined
bison image from Axturra

Cave.
(Diputacion Floral de Bizkaia.)

"Chief site archaeologist Diego
Garate said Friday that an estimated 70 drawings were found on ledges 300
meters (1,000 feet) underground in the Axturra cave in the northern Basque
region. The engravings and paintings feature horses, buffalo, goats and deer,
dating back 12,500 - 14,500 years ago." (Giles 2016)

"The cave was discovered in
1929 and first explored in 1934-35, but it was not until 2014 that Garate and
his team resumed their investigations that the drawings were discovered." (Giles 2016)

"'No one expected a discovery
of this magnitude,' said Jose Yravedra, a prehistory professor at Madrid's
Complutense University. 'There are a lot of cave with drawings but very few
have this much art and this much variety and quality.'" (Giles 2016)

Bison image
with what the chief site

archaeologist
identified as 20 lance

wounds.
(Diputation Floral de Bizkaia.)

Outlined
bison image with what the chief

site
archaeologist identified as 20 lance

wounds.
(Diputation Floral de Bizkaia.)

"Garate highlighted one buffalo
drawing, which he said must have the most hunting lances stuck in it of any
such drawing in Europe. He said most hunting drawings have four or five lances
but this had almost 20 and it's not clear why." (Giles 2016) For the record I count more than twenty.

I find it
to be marvelous, and very exciting, that such discoveries are still being made
with such frequency. The more we discover, the more remarkable our ancestor's deeds really
were.

REFERENCE:

Giles, Ciaran,

2016 https://www.yahoo.com/news/spain-cave-art-trove-found-1-000-feet-144318822.html?nhp=1The photographs that accompanied the article being reviewed were provided by Diputation Floral deBizkaia.

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"We can be nearly certain that we who look upon the rock art today were not the intended audience. But they have meanings for us non-the-less. Whether that meaning is part of our archaeological studies, a part of national or regional heritage or simply an appreciation of their aesthetic beauty, we are their inheritors and it is up to us to preserve them with care and dignity." D. Russel Micnhimer, 2012.

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About Me

30+ year member of the Colorado Archaeological Society,
Founder and former President of the Colorado Rock Art Association,
Member of the Arapahoe County Cultural Commission, President of Institute for Archeoesthetics.
2013 recipient of the Ivol Hagar Award for outstanding service to the Colorado Archaeological Society, and a 2013 Colorado Rock Art Association Chapter Achievement Award. Member of Archaeology and Historic Preservation Committee and also Programs Committee of History Colorado.
Arapahoe County Cultural Council.